The cover of Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey jumped at me (buy me! buy me! buy me!) and I’m hating myself for waiting weeks to open this delightful romcom. Take a spin to Columbus, Ohio, where Chloe is doing her very best to ‘handle it’ while tiptoeing around her feelings for her boss, Nick. I laughed out loud and elbowed my husband so. many. times reading this book. It’s just that funny. Let’s do this!
Preheat the oven
Chloe is balancing a lot of balls in the air. She’s paying for her dad’s care in a nursing home as he dives deeper into Alzheimer’s. Her twin skipped town years ago and is suddenly back but as reliable as a Mexican buffet dinner the night before a big presentation. She’s pursuing her undergrad degree online in between working at Nick’s coffee house. And to boot, her bestie who is sometimes in town, but often not, optioned a movie loosely based on Chloe’s life, specifically the romance undercurrent between Chloe and Nick.
Anyone with eyeballs can see that Chloe and Nick are a match. Anyone with ears can hear that there’s something between them. But ask Chloe and she’ll backpaddle faster than Flo Jo on the hurdles.
Mix, mix, mix
Chloe maintains that she can muster through the chaos if she just handles things herself. Why rely on other people when they have shown their cards in the past, amirite? This way a gal won’t be let down…run down, sure, but not let down. Big diff.
Chloe’s life is not like the movies in that she doesn’t daydream about her wedding (I feel ya), she’s not dying to have kiddos (cool, do you, nice change of pace from a lot of romcom books, right?!), this isn’t taking place in Christmas-ville Nowhere (I’m looking at you, beloved Hallmark holiday movies) and life feels very, very unglamorous for Chloe on so many levels. Maid In Manhattan featuring the always-radiant J Lo proves that anyone can look damn fine after cleaning toilets if you have hair and makeup following you around. I, however, look very un-glam with any type of cleaning. 😉
Here’s quiet, but steady, Nick who offers to help in all the best, small ways to lighten Chloe’s load. He is incredibly flexible with work changes if something comes up with Chloe’s dad. Install backsplash in her kitchen to help her out? Sure. But Nick’s not about to let feelings tangle up the decent friendship he has with Chloe. He’s been disappointed before, you see.
Carefully pour in
Have you ever resonated with a character so much that you think IRL you’d actually be buds? This is how I feel about Chloe. And not just because we lived in Cleveland for a chapter. Girlfriend is optimistic in life because it makes a difference. It helps just get one foot in front of the other. Easy is looking at the wrong things happening to you, the hard things, what isn’t happening or working your way. Harder is finding the silver linings, the good stuff (no matter how insignificant), the victories. She stress-bakes. She doesn’t need 100 friends; she needs and values a small circle.
Set the timer
Some (just SOME) of my favorite passages from this book (but there are sooooo many more to share):
- “All I’m saying is…when you’re with the right person, you’ll know. You’ll feel safe and taken care of and like you can barf and shart without shame.” I mean, this author KILLS!
- “Target is where I go when I feel lost and untethered (so, most days). There’s something about the overhead lighting, so bright that it sterilizes all my worries away. Pushing the cart fills me with a sense of purpose. And there’s always the belief that this endcap or this clearance rack will hold the answer to something, that the next aisle over will have the solution to a problem I didn’t know I had.” GENIUS and spot on! 🎯
- “I look down and remember that I’m wearing pajamas, my hair is in a truly unfortunate and lopsided topknot, and I’m not wearing any makeup. Not my signature bold lip; not my typical winged eyeliner; not the blush that gives my deathly pale skin the slight touch of pink it needs for me to not look like a sexy ghost.” YES! To all those natural beauties out there, bless you. But for my fellow girls who look a lot disheveled without a handful of store-bought beauty, I feel you! 😉
And enjoy!
How this author combined sibling challenges, Alzheimer’s, workplace romance, a nontraditional college path and self-discovery while making it FUNNY as hell and very real life, I dunno. It’s beyond comprehension. But sweet heavens, I’m a fan! Get your pretty mitts on Not Like The Movies!